How to Make Stars
by RequiemForTheWolves
Summary: Years have passed since the angels have been kicked out of Heaven, but Darkness threatens the world's timid peace. Q and Alec are sent on a mission to find the one man who could possibly save them, but everything comes with a price. JAQ Angel AU.


" _I want every piece of me to crash into every piece of you, I swear to god that's how they make stars."_

 _-Mary Lambert from Sarasvati_

* * *

"Why do you always look so sad?"

Q looked up from where he was threading a needle through the underside of Alec's forearm, blinking in surprise before he quirked an eyebrow. "Do you usually ask your superiors such personal questions?"

Alec rolled his eyes, and Q focused back on his handiwork. They were in the Quartermaster's office, and though the smaller man was more subdued now, he had only minutes ago finished a massive rant about bloody double-ohs coming into his office in all sorts of shapes, usually every one of them having forgone medical to instead drip blood all over his floor. Alec had of course insisted that he had only a scratch, especially compared to double-oh two, who had only last week come in practically carrying part of his small intestine alongside him. Q had simply snapped at him that just because he was an angel it didn't mean that he couldn't bleed out, before sitting him down so that he could stitch up the deep laceration. Alec hadn't been able to protest, not when each fingertip placed against his skin buzzed with an electric spark.

"Don't you think we know each other well enough by now?" The agent asked. It had only been a month previous that Q had murmured soft words of comfort in his ear as Alec lay on the floor of a pharmaceutical business tycoon, sure that the poison he had been injected with was going to kill him. He hadn't asked for any assurances from his Quartermaster, he wouldn't be a double-oh if he had needed any, but Q was there for him none the less, reminding him to breathe, telling him he would help him in any way he could. Alec was still convinced that the gas leak and following explosion next door that had brought about the circumstances of his survival most definitely come about because of Q, though the Quartermaster admitted to nothing.

"I hardly find that relevant to the situation. Though I'll be severely disappointed if I find out that you and M get together for tea on Wednesday to gossip, because if you do then I might be out of 20 quid."

"Q," Alec reprimanded, "I'm being serious...for once. Us double-ohs were all about to ban together to throw you a surprise party simply because you always look like you're in desperate need of one."

It was Q's turn to roll his eyes. "You're right, how could I ever have thought that you were joking? And please don't ever do that. For some reason when the words "double-oh" and "surprise" are used in the same sentence it usually ends up meaning more explosions than strictly necessary." He stopped and studied Alec for a moment, and the agent did his best to keep his expression as solemn and open as possible, knowing the scrutiny he was currently being put under. He must have passed, as Q spoke again when going back to his work. "If you must know, I lost someone very dear to me, and I suppose I never really got over it."

"Was this during the war?" Alec had been only a fledgeling then, but evidence of the war remained everywhere, in buildings still bearing scorch marks and blackened fields where entire villages had once stood. The Darkness had left nothing unscathed.

"It was."

"That was an awfully long time ago."

Q leveled him with eyes as green as the jealousy that raged inside of Alec over this person who held such possession over the Quartermaster's heart and said, "There are some things that stay with you, no matter the amount of time that passes."

* * *

Q had gotten the news late at night, Tanner popping into his office with a brief and to tell him that he would be leaving tomorrow morning. The order was sudden and came directly from the powers that be, the gears set into motion and already spinning at a rapid pace. Q read the file from his desk, anxiety churning in his gut over the fact that he was being sent out into the field until the folder's contents made his blood run cold.

They were bringing Bond back.

And they were going to sacrifice Trevelyan in order to do it.

Out of all the agents they could have chosen from they picked the only one with any heart, the only one who hadn't let the job consume him, the only one who offered Q a genuine smile every time he walked into the Quartermaster's office. They were going to take away the only person in this entire damn institution that actually cared enough about Q to take notice of his feelings and ask him what was wrong.

And they wanted Q to be the one to take his life.

The angel had to force back the bile that threatened to rise from his throat while his whole body quaked as he processed the news.

It wouldn't have taken Q long to guess where his agent would be even without the assistance of the tracking chip embedded into his arm. Q had to climb through a hole blown into the wall in order to get into the run down bar, though he was sure the agent had found an easier way in. The entire roof of the place was missing, as well as the first story, leaving the bottom level looking haggard and reeking of mold. Alec was sitting on top of a table toward the center of the room, staring up at the night sky, his hand resting around the neck of a bottle of vodka.

Q picked his way over carefully, weaving in and out of rotting furniture before finally tripping over the pieces of chair that had likely failed to hold Alec's weight. The agent's hand shot out to grab his arm just in time, the grip near bruising tight until Q was steady, before gentling to a barely there brush of fingers that lingered for a few moments before falling away. "Easy there Quartermaster. Wouldn't want you to damage that pretty face of yours."

Q huffed and straightened out his jumper, eyes intent on the agent who hadn't once yet looked his way. "I didn't think this to be your usual scene."

"No where else can really compare with the view." He turned to finally look at Q then, his grin lose and eyes slightly hazy. "Especially now that you're here."

Q took his turn to glance up at the small points of light hovering overhead, crystallized fire embedded into a swath of silky ink. "You know, there used to be less of them. Or at least, you used to be able to see less of them. The light pollution that the city gave off would block out the stars."

Alec took another swig of vodka before offering Q the bottle. "I guess there are some good things that can come from destruction then."

Q took a small sip and winced at the burn. "They briefed me on the mission. Do you know why they picked you?"

Alec took the bottle back and threw back a few more gulps. "They didn't pick me. I volunteered."

"What?" Q demanded.

Alec looked back at him with eyes softer than Q had ever seen on the man before as he raised a hand to gently grip at the Quartermaster's chin. "Please don't look so sad over me. I don't think I could bear it." Q looked down in response, his head coming out of Alec's hold, and kicked at a piece of rotting wood at his feet. "It seems fitting that you'll be the one to do it, you who's always watching over me. My little guardian angel." Alec grinned over at him, but Q scowled.

"You're drunk."

Alec swirled his drink around in the bottom on the nearly empty bottle. "You're right. This is my second bottle. Still, doesn't mean what I say isn't true."

"Alcohol does seem to make even angels more honest. And apparently philosophical."

Alec snorted. "To be or not to be, that is the question."

Q picked up where he left off without hesitation, the words fitting comfortably around his tongue. "Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing, end them?"

Alec raised an eyebrow. "You weren't very well liked in school, were you?"

Q rolled his eyes, even the idea of him in human school ridiculous. He was by far older than even the idea of organized education. "He was contemplating suicide you know."

Alec sighed and guzzled down more vodka. "Yea, well, all I've ever found contemplation good for is making me a day late and a dollar short. Going on impulse is easier." Alec stood as if to leave, bottle still in hand, and Q had to blink back the sudden moisture in his eyes. This was really happening. Alec was really leaving him.

The agent stopped in front of him and threaded his free hand through Q's brown curls, holding his head in place as he bent down to press a kiss to the smaller man's forehead. "I'll see you bright and early, Quartermaster."

* * *

The next day MI6 had them on a train headed under the English channel, on their way to mainland Europe and then off to the Swiss Alps. Before they left M had asked Q if he was up for flying instead, but the Quartermaster had politely declined. He had stopped flying only a few months after the fall to Earth, once it had become too tiring for him as his magic began seeping away.

It was unnerving, to feel it flowing out of him and into the Earth. The process was slow, but he had been Earth-bound for years. At one point he would have been able to preform the spell on Bond without having to use someone else as a sacrifice, but at this point all he could do was redirect energy. As a level 5 angel there had been only one group higher than him in Heaven, those who were charged with keeping the peace, and like him those that were left were also struggling with the void in them where their magic used to be. He missed his magic deeply, but everyone had lost something in the Fall. Not one of them remained unbroken.

Alec and Q were in their own compartment on the train, the two men sat across from each other and next to the window. They were only a few minutes out when Alec turned from watching the scenery to ask Q, "Who was this person, the one that you lost?"

The Quartermaster closed the book he was reading slowly, a small paperback with a mouse holding a sewing needle drawn on the cover, and regarded the agent carefully. "He was a lot like you actually. A level 2 angel, ran evil banishing missions on Earth before the war. When the Darkness came he switched over to being a soldier without question. Just like you, he would fight simply because no one else would."

"It's either that or watch the world burn."

The brunette grimaced. "Yes, I suppose it is." For a moment Q's eyes unfocused, lost somewhere in the melancholy depths of his memory before he pulled himself back to the surface. "Speaking of, you didn't happen to be told anything more about the reasoning behind this endeavor of ours, did you? The file I got was frustratingly vague."

The double-oh shook his head, still a bit put out by the fact to be honest, but then again, when had MI6 ever told him the whole truth? "Just that Dark forces are rising again in South America, and that what we're doing is the only way to stop them. No more than you."

"It would make sense. Bond was one of the few decidedly worthy enough to wield an angelic sword when more were fashioned for the war. Everyone else who had one died in battle, and the weapons can only be lifted by their owner." Q was quiet for a moment, contemplative, before he spoke again. "You know, I can't help but feel bad over you doing this. I know that it's imperative that we do, but with your loss I'm gaining back a dear friend. It seems like a kindness that you do not owe me."

Little did he know that Alec would have given him the world had he simply asked for it.

"Don't worry yourself with it. Someone had to do it, and no one else was volunteering." He still remembered the conference of two days ago, where each agent had looked around the room desperately for a volunteer until Alec had finally bitten the bullet and stepped forward, apparently the only one out of the whole lot with enough balls to do it. Alec busied himself with looking out the window, taking in the last views of England he would get before they entered the chunnel. He couldn't stand to see his Quartermaster's eyes so sad. "So what exactly is this spell that you're having to undo?"

"Well," Q shifted in his seat to get more comfortable, drawing in his legs like a child would to cross under him, "in order to defeat the Darkness, Bond had to destroy the gem that housed its power. The only way to do this of course was by running it through with an angelic sword. When he did this the gem shattered, releasing all of its magic to wreck havoc upon the surrounding area. To be frank, it actually caused less damage than what we had predicted, simply freezing everything in time for a few miles around the center point."

"Where is it that my Grace comes into play?" Grace was an angel's life force, the equivalent of a human soul, and not something to be given sparingly. Alas, dire times called for dire measures.

"Yes, well, in order to bring Bond back, we have to focus your grace on the spell that's holding him, and basically burn it up from the inside. He's not frozen as in ice, but in a sense we're melting him."

Alec slumped back in his seat, nerves keeping his muscles tense despite his poor posture, and his stomach churned with apprehension. Despite his years of experience this time was different. In this there was a certainty to his death. "Sounds fun."

Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Q grimace and open his book again. The Quartermaster reached a leg out, placing his foot along side his agent's so that their ankles touched through their trousers. Alec felt the brunt of the nervous energy drain out of him then, and didn't know if it was some sort of spell the level 5 angel was casting, or simply the Quartermaster's presence that was putting him at ease. Most likely it was the latter, not even MI6's finest able to escape the huge power drain on higher level angels ever since being cast down to Earth. Either way, Alec rested his head against the train's window and felt himself able to drift off with ease.

* * *

They took a car from France into Switzerland, despite the fact that a train would have been cheaper. When Alec asked about this though all Q did was give him a knowing smile before climbing into the passenger seat of the sleek black Audi they were renting,one of the latest cars produced before the war, and obviously buffed up to look nice again. There was no doubt that the Quartermaster knew his agents, knew how much better it would make Alec feel to get behind the wheel of a car and see how fast he could push her. It would make him feel as if he were actually dong something besides sitting around and waiting for his death.

"What was Heaven like?" The agent asked at one point, when there was nothing but green fields and rolling hills to look at on either side of them.

Q sighed. The reminder of his old home always sent an unpleasant pang through his chest, but for Alec he would talk about it. "You mean back when we could actually enter it?" He couldn't help but ask bitterly. "It was nice. Not too much different from Earth to be honest. I had a flat that I shared with my mate. A job. It was peaceful." Of course unlike Earth it was always peaceful. No wars would take place on hallowed ground.

"What job did you have?"

The smaller man smiled at that. He was one of the few angels that had been lucky enough to find a job somewhat similar to the one he had held before. "I created sparks of inspiration. It was fun, drawing up ideas for new machinery and then sending them off to whichever inventor was lucky enough to catch them. There were different angels for different specialties of course. I personally knew the one for literature, Claire. She was brilliant. I had engineering though. You should have seen some of the things I was going to send off before the war hit. They were absolutely breath taking."

Alec couldn't help but smile as well, especially with the way his Quartermaster had become suddenly so bright and enthusiastic. Q's smile had always been so hard to find, seeing it now was like a gift. "I'm sure they were."

"You don't remember anything of Heaven, do you?" Q had sobered again, though his eyes were far more curious than pitying, something for which Alec was grateful.

"No. I know I was born there, but my first memory takes place in an orphanage here on Earth." There had been a mix of both human and angel children there, the old brick building nearly filled to the brim with the after affects of the war.

Q hummed, turning his head to look back out the window as they came up on a large blackened field on either side of them. It was residual magic that kept the desecrated areas looking like that, still as tarnished as the night the entire village or city had gone up in flames. The earth was scorched as if years hadn't passed, as if with the help of a few hundred stranded angels society hadn't started slowly putting itself back together again. Efforts had been made to try and turn areas such as these green again, but the dark imprint of pain and suffering that had been left upon the ground would not allow for such alteration. It was as if the dead were insisting they be remembered, as if anyone could forget.

Q finally pulled his gaze away from the wasteland to ask, "so you have no family then? No one you're leaving behind?"

"Afraid not. What about you Quartermaster? Anyone waiting for you to come home?"

The smallest smile tweaked at the edges of Q's lips. "I have a cat. His name is Schrodinger. R is watching him while I'm away."

"Hmm, I'm more of a dog person myself, but it must be nice to have someone to curl up with every night."

Q snorted, the smile back on his face in full. "I wish. He's a right bastard. You wouldn't believe some of the scratches I've gotten trying to pet him when he doesn't want to be touched. He seems to love R though, the bloody traitor. As if I'm not the one buying his food and paying his share of the rent."

Alec couldn't help but smile as well, the Quartermaster's mood infectious. "What a fucking freeloader."

Q dissolved into giggles, and Alec simply grinned along.

* * *

They stopped for the night in a village a few miles from the mountain peak where they would end up, not that as angels they really needed the rest, but Q had insisted.

"Everything past the far end of the village is frozen." The boffin told him over drinks and chips in one of the small pubs the town offered. It was warm and cozy inside, with dark wood and dim lighting and a murmur of conversation coming from the bar. Q's ankle was resting against Alec's under the table again, and it was that more than the drink or the atmosphere that was keeping him relaxed.

"You said earlier they were frozen in time. What did you mean by that?"

Q took a moment to think as he took another chip from the plate they were sharing and dragged it through ketchup. A small group of humans erupted into roaring laughter a few tables over, and an angel at the bar cursed loudly after accidentally knocking his drink over. Despite the din, Q's soft voice carried over to Alec with ease. "They're a fixed point in time that can't be moved by any outside force unless the spell is taken away first. They're like statues without the stone. There's a lot of them too. Bond brought an entire army with him as back up to ensure that he would make it to the gem. Nearly all of them perished before the Darkness was broken. Still, it got the job done."

"Your mate, was he part of that army?" Alec asked.

Q looked up from where he had been following the progress of a drop of condensation down the side of his glass to offer Alec a sad smile. "He was the one leading it."

* * *

They parted ways for a while after dinner, Alec offering to make the call to MI6 to update M on their progress. Q had left to wander the short row of shops at the center of the small town, and when Alec found him again it was in a quaint little book store, sitting on the floor next to the children's shelves with with his knees curled up to his chest. He had open a copy of Peter Pan, and a gentle smile graced his features as he read.

Alec lowered himself to the ground next to the other man, their shoulders touching through the winter coats that they wore more for appearance's sake than anything. Their bodies didn't feel temperature as dramatically as human's did. "This is the second time I've seen you reading a children's book." He observed.

Q turned his gentle smile onto the agent, and for a moment Alec struggled to remember how to breathe. "A guilty pleasure of mine I suppose. In my old age I found I've grown fond of the innocence and hope that can be found in them. It's so hard to find these qualities anywhere else." It was funny to think of Q as old, by human standards he looked to be in only the first quarter of his life. The comment hadn't been untrue though, the other angel had been around much longer than Alec probably wanted to think about. It was a humbling reminder.

"I haven't read that one yet. Will you read it to me?"

Q brightened at the request, and Alec's chest warmed with the knowledge that he had been the cause of the angel's joy. The smaller man flipped the book back to page one as he settled more comfortably against the agent, and Alec shifted to accommodate him. The Quartermaster's lilting voice soon filled the space around them, and Alec relaxed back against the shelves as well as he let the sound sink into his skin.

* * *

Alec was pretending to sleep when Q came out of the inn's bathroom, the smell of shampoo still heavy in the air as his bare feet moved silently across the carpet. Alec expected him to simply get into his own bed, but instead he felt the mattress he was resting on dip under the Quartermaster's weight.

"Alec," he called in nothing more than a whisper, "I know you're awake."

Knowing he wasn't fooling anyone Alec sat up, resting his back against the headboard. Q was sitting, legs crossed, on the edge of his bed, clad only in a pair of sweatpants so that the moon light coming in from the window gave the pale expanse of his chest an elegant glow. He was beautiful and ethereal and Alec wanted him despite himself.

As if Q could read his desires through the blank mask he knew he held in place, the Quartermaster leaned in closer, taking Alec's chin in a gentle grip so that he could brush their lips together. Every nerve in the agent's body suddenly lit on fire, and he balled his hands into fists against the duvet to prevent himself from dragging Q closer, from attempting to bring them together for a proper kiss.

After a moment Q pulled away in confusion to look into the other man's eyes. "You don't have to make yourself do this for me," Alec choked out, "just because it's my last night."

Q tipped his head slightly to the side in question. "What makes you think that I wouldn't want to do this? I thought our feelings were mutual."

"What about your mate?"

Q offered him another gentle smile. "Do you think us capable of loving only one person at a time? We are more complex creatures than that. I do want you too."

The admission broke Alec, each of the strings holding him in place snapping at once, and he dragged Q into his lap, sealing their lips together in a searing kiss. Q ran heated fingers through his hair, and Alec gripped bruises into prominent hip bones as his whole body screamed finally. _Finally._

* * *

The sun shone brightly against the mountain's snow the next morning, the crisp white contrasting with the dark wings Q had brought onto the corporeal plane of existence as he stretched out against the soft powder. Upon standing up again Q smiled down at his work, looking undoubtedly proud. "A snow angel."

Alec snorted, running his fingers through long brunette waves to brush snow out of them. Q grinned up at him before reaching for Alec's hand and dragging it down to his lips, placing a kiss on the palm there. Alec slid his hand back around to cup the back of the Quartermaster's neck, drawing him in for a proper kiss.

They had been hiking for a few hours, and were almost to the mountain's peak where Q said a cave would be located. On the way there they had come across both humans and angels alike, either a warrior stuck in a fighting stance, or a carcass lying on the ground, unable to decay due to the spell holding it there. There was no trace of any soldiers for the other side, apparently all of them having dissipated the moment their power source was gone.

Each step they took closer to the peak the more of a tug Alec could feel on his gut, a low dropping sensation in his stomach that made his teeth itch and his hair stand on end. Q eventually began shivering, which was an absurd notion, an angel being cold, but Alec began removing his leather jacket to offer the smaller man all the same.

Q shook his head, refusing the coat. "It's not that, but thank you anyway. You can feel it too, can't you? The pull? It's this space, it's saturated with magic. It's setting all my senses on edge."

Q was of a higher level than him, leaving him more sensitive to the magical residue that lingered, clinging to the space around them. Alec pulled him close, harsh winds whipping around them both as the smaller man shuttered in his arms. He stayed for only a moment though before pulling away again, placing a long fingered hand on his companion's arm as he offered up a grateful smile. "Thank you, but we need to keep moving."

The cave that they came upon at the mountain's peak was shallower than Alec had expected, sunlight reaching in from the mouth all the way through to the end. The bodies were more concentrated there, causing them to have to weave in and out of frozen warriors as they made their way through. At the very end stood a man impeccably dressed in a grey suit, arms raised above his head as he drove a gleaming silver sword into a stone alter.

Alec could read no emotion on Q's face as he approached his lover, the angel holding a blank mask over his features. His eyes roamed over the blond man, a hand coming up to brush at some of the dust on the agent's shoulder that had settled heavily over the years. Green eyes flicked only briefly over to the shattered gem laying on the alter, just long enough to reach out a curious hand and pick up one of the gleaming amber pieces. He dropped it immediately, as if burned, drawing his hand up to be cradled against his chest. Alec took a concerned step forward, wanting to asses the damage and offer comfort, but stopped when Q carried on, seemingly unfazed.

The brunette ducked under the warrior's arm, stepping into the circle of his arms, almost as if it were an embrace. He took a moment to trace long fingers across the man's features, reverent in his touch. Alec wanted to look away, feeling as if he were intruding on too private a moment.

Q looked up at him over Bond's shoulder, sorrow twinkling in the stars of his eyes. "Alec, I'm sorry."

"What?" Alec stepped forward, confused, but he was too late, had hung back too far in his offer of some privacy to Q to be of any good now.

Q pressed his lips to his mate's, the both of them beginning to faintly glow a bright blue, and with a dawning horror Alec realized what the other man was doing. He was performing the spell on himself, giving his own life over to Bond so that Alec wouldn't have to. Dear god, he was going to kill the both of them with this.

It took only a few moments, the angelic sword clattering to the ground as Bond was released from the spell's grasp, his arms coming down to wrap around the Quartermaster, holding the smaller man tightly against him as he was suddenly able to kiss back. For a second that felt immeasurably long the two were together again the way they should be, locked together as if nothing could break them apart. It could only last for a moment though before Q began collapsing in on himself, his life source running out as it was transferred to his mate. Bond held him tighter as his legs gave out, the agent dropping to his knees so that he could cradle Q's withering body. Before either of them had the chance to react – Q was gone.

"Q? _Q_!" The agent demanded before pressing fingers to the younger man's neck to check for a pulse. The angel's wings manifested, flaring out in a flurry of silver-grey feathers before curling protectively around the fallen Quartermaster. "God _damnit!_ "

Bond looked up, sharp blue eyes that were rimmed with tears soon landing on Alec, standing only a few feet away. "You. Tell me what happened." The blond's voice was rough, a painful, gravely noise clawing its way up his throat.

For a moment Alec couldn't speak, the grief that was heavy in his chest weighing down his tongue as well. He had just had Q, just held him in his arms less than an hour ago. He had just gotten what he had been longing for for years and now it was gone. The pain had blindsided him. He couldn't feel his fingers, and his hands balled into fists, nails biting into his palms just to remind him that they were there.

Alec blinked, and finally his voice managed to break through the silence, strangled though it was. "You've been gone a long time."

He told Bond everything, from what had happened to the world after the war to why he and Q were there now, not leaving out the fact that he was supposed to be in Q's place. The other angel took all of this in with a stony expression, hands never moving from where they kept the Quartermaster cradled against his chest.

Bond nodded when Alec finished, looking resolute and determined. "Right, well, we won't have much time now. When the doors to Heaven closed, did they close to the In-Between as well?"

Alec blinked, shifting the weight of his feet in confusion. "I'm not sure. To be honest I don't think anyone checked, probably too scared that a portal would lead to nowhere."

Bond grimaced. "For our sake let's hope that's not the case. Q is of a high enough level that his Grace may still be stuck there, but we have to hurry." Bond pressed a brief, heartfelt kiss to Q's forehead before laying him gently, reverently, on the ground. The blond got up and walked over to the nearest cave wall and Alec hesitated, unable to drag his eyes away from Q's prone form before forcing himself to follow after the other agent. Leaving him seemed wrong, but they had to grasp at any thread of hope they could.

Bond pulled a small, circular pin out of his pocket and placed it against the slightly curved rock, the metal engraved with a symbol from a language that had born and died long before Alec's time. A section of cave wall the size of an average door pushed out then, swinging on invisible hinges, opening to reveal nothing but darkness. The two men shared a brief look before Bond stepped through the portal, Alec following soon after.

They stepped out onto a small cobble stone street, the night sky glittering with stars overhead as street lamps bathed the road lined with shops in a soft, orange glow. Behind them was only darkness, the entrance to the portal, so the two men walked together down the street, eyes sharp and alert. They were both military men in a painfully obvious way, near mirrors of each other in their concentration. After an angel of significant power died, their Grace would be temporarily suspended in the space In-Between so that if they were needed they could be brought back to the land of the living. A fail safe, in a way. However, their life force would be hidden, only accessible to those who knew them well enough to know where to find it.

Both agents started when a far off bell tower tolled, announcing that it was midnight. Bond grimaced. "We'll only have 'till sunrise. We should probably split up soon, cover as much ground as we can. Wait." Alec stopped, following Bond's line of sight to find that they had reached a clockwork shop, the display a collection of tools and gears. "It'll most likely be in here." Bond moved to enter the shop, but stopped when Alec didn't follow. "What?"

"I don't know, I just...don't think it's in there." True, Q was a master at machinery, but there was no pull, nothing that screamed sentimental to Alec. Not a place he figured a soul would choose to hide

"Well, feel free to look somewhere else if you think it best." Alec nodded, began moving along down the street again when Bond's words stopped him. "You're in love with him, aren't you?" Alec turned to face the other man, but said nothing. The agent was able to read his answer in his face anyway. He put up his own masks often enough, he could recognize the same ones on Alec. "That's alright. He's in love with you too. He didn't just give up his life for me. He did it for you as well." Alec could only nod, not knowing what else to say before he headed off on his own again. Despite the fact that Bond was apparently fine with his and Q's feelings for each other, there was no way the older angel would want him around once his help was no longer needed.

The brunette walked only a few more blocks before he came upon a small bookstore, with a bell that chimed when he opened the door and shelves that only reached half of his height. There was no smiling human to greet him at the front desk, but then they hadn't actually seen another living soul since entering this place. Remembering how he had spent part of the previous night, Alec made his way over the the children's section, finding books in a variety of languages. He pulled a few off the shelves and flipped through them, The Giving Tree, Le Petit Prince, The Velveteen Rabbit, James and the Giant Peach.

Eventually he came across a rather thick book titled The Phantom Tollbooth, the cover decorated with a drawing of a young boy face-to-face with a dog that had a clock for a stomach. He let the pages run across his thumb, the air that brushed forth whispering his name like a soft caress in a familiar voice. Alec closed the book and held it close to his chest. He needed to find Bond.

* * *

Q's first breath was ragged, dragging across his lungs, and Alec wanted to reach out, to hold him and offer comfort. That was Bond's job now though, and Alec could only stand back and watch as the other man cradled the Quartermaster in his arms with the utmost care.

Both of the lower level angels let out relieved sighs when green eyes opened to them, fuzzy but regaining clarity. "You scared the hell out of me." Bond reprimanded in a voice gruff with emotion.

"You deserved it." The smaller man shot back immediately. Despite their harsh words the two men embraced, wrapping around each other as much as possible, eyes closed tightly. "I missed you, you absolute arse." Q commented in a tone that was more fond than anything.

"I missed you too."

Q huffed. "Yea, but you were gone for longer."

Alec took that moment to tactfully back out of the cave, feeling as if he were intruding on too private a moment. He didn't wait around at the mouth, instead choosing to begin his decent down the mountain on his own. He wasn't needed anymore, could return to MI6 and explain how he was still alive, despite the fact that the mission had been completed. He would go back to his job of being a field agent, and Q would probably show up again after a few days, once him and his mate had gotten time to reacquaint themselves. And Alec would go back to pretending that he wasn't in love with the little angel that had once had more power in his pinky finger than Alec had in his whole body.

He supposed he could simply fly into the nearest town with a train station. It would be exhausting, but at least then he could leave Q and Bond the car. Q would appreciate that, he hated how much more difficult flying was without the magic to manipulate air currents.

Alec was a third of the way down the mountain when he heard a familiar voice calling his name, sounding distressed, but only just audible over the whipping of the wind. The brunette turned to find Q racing after him as quick as his still unsteady legs would take him (which was to say not very fast at all). Bond stayed as close as he could to his charge, face impassive except for the brief flashes of concern in his eyes the moments before he would have to place a hand on Q in order to steady the rushing angel before he hurt himself.

Alec waited for the pair to catch up, only just managing to catch Q from falling as the young man reached him. Normally the Quartermaster walked as if he were floating, with all of the grace that Alec definitely wasn't born with. After coming back to life though he was understandably wobbly, face planting into the agent's chest with all the finesse of a toddler. Unsurprisingly, Q managed to gather his dignity quite well afterward, straightening once he was steady and glaring up at Alec with eyes that exuded a challenge.

"And where the hell do you think you're going?" He demanded, indignant.

"I, uh, well I figured since the mission was done you didn't need me anymore."

"Don't be ridiculous." Q immediately scoffed. "I thought I made myself perfectly clear last night. I do quite enjoy having you around."

"Yea, but-" But not in that way, the agent wanted to say. Now that you have your mate you won't want me in that way anymore, and I don't think I could put myself through the torture of staying close while being completely ignored. Not after everything that had happened.

Alec looked to Bond for help, but all he received was a warm, almost smile. Probably all that the other agent could manage.

"Alec," Q's voice had gone soft, and he took the agent's hand in a gentle grip, "it's alright, you can stay with James and I. I know that's not what you originally wanted, and I would understand you saying no. It's just..." The Quartermaster trailed off as his eyes attempted to say everything he could not voice. He loved them both, didn't want to have to give either of them up, hoped that Alec could understand this.

Apparently Bond and Q were already on the same page, as when he looked up at the older man the blond nodded his consent. Alec didn't really know him, though he had heard a good number of stories. A pain in the arse who apparently had a penchant for destruction, he was not above lying and manipulating to get what he wanted. He was a good warrior though, smart and strong and deathly loyal to those he cared about. And he was also apparently worthy of Q's love and trust, meaning that he had to be a good person at his core. Alec could be open to getting to know the man, especially for Q's sake. Hell, he would shack up with M if it meant he could stay close to Q. James Bond couldn't be all that bad in comparison.

Alec stepped closer to the Quartermaster, hand tightening in their joint grip as he placed a kiss to Q's forehead. "Okay."

* * *

Not brit-picked and self beta-ed

Also if any of you were wondering, the book Q was reading on the train was the Tale of Desperaux.


End file.
